Fredonia, NY
Late Night
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel as harsh as I thought I would this morning. I woke up on my own at 7:10 and turned off the alarm. I hit the shower and put in my contacts. That didn’t feel so great. I woke up a sleeping girl to get direction which she gave and turned back over to go to sleep. I was a bit jealous of that.
But, once I got outside and the sun was out and the day was perfect for golf, I was fine. I drove the few minutes to the White Inn. Ryan was running late and said he wouldn’t be down until 8:10. I walked the couple of blocks to the park where the wedding was going to be taking place and took some pictures. I loved walking through the heart of a small town. I saw Heenan’s in the daylight. I guessed we’d be back. It was early and there was minimal activity. I got back to the white and sat down on the porch. One of the wives of the guys in the wedding was out there talking with one of the greeters. She was getting directions to WalMart. We said hello. It turned out her husband got wasted and puked up last nights drinks on his golf stuff. She was going to Wally world to get him some golf gear. He looked awful when I saw him at the course but he was a trooper.
Ryan made it down and we wondered whose eye’s were worse off, his or mine. He had been a champion the night before and I knew he had to be hurting. We were both in pain and had to talk in hush voices as we were seated in the formal dining room. There were older people in suits around us. We ordered and it was great. Two scrambled some Canadian bacon, hash browns, and toast. Everything was done just right.
The food helped us out and we were functionable. We met up with everyone else at about 9 and made our way to the course. Ryan and I rode together and played with Rob for the first 9 holes. It was a sunny day which allowed me to take off my undert shirt. It was nice to have the air flowing. I played pretty good considering my golf rust and my brain rust from the night before. I guess I was caught up in the wedding spirit as I accepted a beer at 10 AM. I never drink while I play golf, but an ice cold LBL was not passed. We had a great time as we played. Ryan and I hadn’t seen each other in a long time. We quizzed Rob on how he was feeling and he seemed to be relaxed and fine, even excited. That was good to see.
The round ended and I wound up being low scorer with an 81. Ryan was right behind me with an 82. I said my goodbyes and headed back to the house. I was granted time off and immediately got ready for a nap. Contacts out, alarm on. I got in about 50 minutes. The shave and shower afterward had me feeling great for the 4:30 wedding. My suit was on and my date looked beautiful in a purple strapless dress, matching Coach bag, and a flowered overcoat. I felt like we were going to the prom as we said our goodbye’s to her mom.
The day was perfect. The sun was out, it wasn’t too hot, and the gazebo looked wonderful. The sun filling in through the trees was spectacular. I got there feeling great. Most of the guys were feeling better than me as they didn’t nap, they went to Coughlan’s right after golf just until it was time to put the tuxes on. The bride looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle. The party looked hip as they had black dresses and hats on. I was told it was a good idea that they could choose their black dress, so then they could reuse it. The wedding was short and sweet. The Justice of the Peace added some humor and you could tell he knew Rob. The couple was very much in love and some tears were shed up there. Big Rob has a soft heart and he was as excited as she was. After 20 minutes they made their way down the aisle as husband and wife. They headed back to the White Inn for pictures and the reception. A group of about 12 of us headed in the opposite direction for a drink at Coughlan’s. We filed in and the owner filled them up. What a place. He counted, to about 8 drinks and said, “Oh, how about 18 dollars?”
We had one and timed it perfectly. The pictures were just wrapping up as we made it back. It was a great spread. Where Ryan and I had breakfast was now replaced with large tables and band was setting up. I’m not sure if they did this on purpose, but Table 7, our table, was right in front of the bar, which happened to be open all night and stocked with all top shelf stuff. This was good and bad. I said my date was from there. It turned out the bartender was her boyfriend from 8th grade. Our table gave her a lot of grief for that.
Our table was a lot of fun. Ryan and Becky sat right across and one of Rob’s old roommates and his wife were next to us. The interview guy and his wife were at the end with big Matt and his wife who I recognized from kickball. The drinks flowed and the couple came around with big smiles. The dinner came out. Tasty. Salas, Prime Rib, greenbeans, potatoes and carrots. I made the wise move of asking for horse radish. Very good meal.
The 6 piece jazz band came on and I made my way out there. I am not a dancer, but figured with a date, I needed to do something. What a Wonderful World by Louie Armstrong was on so I figured I could sway my way to that. The band truly kicked a DJ’s butt. They were great and played some Van the Man and a lot of other things. My dancing was not that big a part of the night. The toast was well done and the first dances were very nice. Their first dance was too a song by Allison Krauss that was pretty, but I did not know it.
The party carried on and we all felt loose. My date and I slipped out to meet her mom and bf at the Legion. We got to see the end of the NASCAR race which turned out to be very exciting. We stayed there for about 30 minutes and made our way back to the party. It was still going and at about 11 we moved back down to Coughlin’s. The new couple even joined us. It was a lot of fun but we were both whipped.
We left out at about 12:15. We saw some of her brother’s friends who weren’t too happy with the news she was coming home with some boy (me). I took off my suit, took out my contacts, and zonked out hard. What a long day. But it was great. And I was very glad to have been able to be there.